The rise of the Internet and networking technologies has resulted in the widespread transfer of code, data and files between computers. This material is not always what it seems to be. For example, code that is accessed on a remote machine and downloaded to a computer system can contain hostile algorithms that can potentially destroy code, crash the system, corrupt code or worse. Some of these hostile algorithms are viruses, worms, and Trojan horses.
Hostile, malicious and/or proscribed code, data and files (“code” as used hereinafter generally includes “data” and “files”) can infect a single computer system or entire network and so posit a security risk to the computer system or network. The user and/or administrator (generally referred to hereinafter as “user”) may wish to intercept, examine and/or control such code. The user might also wish to intercept, examine and/or control other code as well, for example, code which the user does not know to be hostile, but wishes to intercept nonetheless, for example, potentially sexually or racially harassing email, junk email, trade secret text, or other confidential information, etc. This latter type of code is known hereinafter as “predetermined code”.
Antivirus or other similar packages attempt to protect the system or network from hostile, malicious, predetermined and/or proscribed code (generally referred to hereinafter as “proscribed code.”) VFIND®, from CyberSoft, Inc., is one such product that may protect systems and networks from proscribed code. If the virus programs are not run frequently—an all too common occurrence—they will not protect the system. Therefore, the benefits and protections offered by antivirus programs are often lost.
The difficulty of scanning code or proscribed code is accentuated by email. Email, providing a simple and convenient method of transferring code, is often only scanned after receipt, at the user's option. If the user does not scan the email, or improperly scans the email, proscribed code might infect the system. Moreover, programs often used to send and receive email, such as Microsoft Outlook®, may open the email automatically and thus permit proscribed code to infect the system without any user interaction whatsoever. In such a situation, the user may not even realize his or her system is infected until too late—after the infection by the proscribed code.
Moreover, a primary method of detecting viruses and other hostile code is by examining the code only after it has entered the user's machine. This method may provide some protection however the virus may still be on the user's machine and available to the network.
Therefore, it would be beneficial to have apparatus, methods and articles of manufacture for simply and effectively scanning email in an efficient manner transparently or almost transparently to the end-user, with little or no operational effort required by the user.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus, methods and articles of manufacture that simply and effectively intercept, control, and/or examine incoming and outgoing code in an efficient manner transparently or almost transparently to the end-user, with little or no operational effort required by the user.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide apparatus, methods and articles of manufacture that simply and effectively intercept, control, and/or examine incoming and outgoing code transferred, at least in part, through a “store and forward” transfer system, in an efficient manner transparently or almost transparently to the end-user, with little or no operational effort required by the user.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide apparatus, methods and articles of manufacture that simply and effectively intercept, control, and/or examine incoming and outgoing code transferred, at least in part, through a “store and forward” transfer system, in an efficient manner transparently or almost transparently to the end-user, with little or no operational effort required by the user.